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PSC to hold hearings on Ameren price increase

October 28, 2003
By: Aidian Holder
State Capital Bureau

You'll be paying more to heat your house this winter if Ameren UE get's its way. The company wants 27 million dollars in new money from Missouri customers. Aidian Holder has that story.

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Ameren says it needs the money, about an extra $16 a month from the average customer, to pay for infrastructure improvements.

Ameren must win approval for the increase from the Public Service Commission, and starting this week the P-S-C takes it's show on the road, with public hearings in several mid-Missouri towns.

Spokesman Mike Cleary says his company has to recoup the costs of infrastructure.

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This week's hearings are only the first of many to come, the PSC has until early 2004 to decide on Ameren's request.

From the State Capitol, I'm Aidian Holder

Date: 10/28/2003

By: Aidian Holder

State Capital Bureau

AmerenUE customers will be paying more to heat their homes next year, if the company gets its way. The Public Service Commission starts public hearings this week on whether to allow the company to increase rates by more than 26 million dollars. Aidian Holder has the story.

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If approved, the increases would add more than sixteen dollars to the price of an average monthly gas bill.

Ameren spokesman Mike Cleary says the company needs the extra money to pay for infrastructure improvements mandated by the state.

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Contents: Cleary says replacing gas lines in urban areas is more expensive than laying new lines in undeveloped areas.

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Contents: Mary Hussman says her constituents can't aford any increase

Mary Hussman is an organizer with Grass Roots Organizing, an organization reprenting low income families.

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Contents: Hussman says low income families' incomes are stagnant, and they can't afford continued increases in cost of living.

The proposed increases are only to cover infrastructure, not the price of natural gas, which is also expected to spike this winter.

Public hearings will be held on the measure this week in Wentzville, Mexico, and Columbia, and next week in Jefferson City and Cape Girardeu. Formal hearings with lawmakers are scheduled for early next year at the state Capitol.

The PSC has until April of next year to decide on the proposal, and if approved it will be fazed in over the next two years.

From the State Capitol, I'm Aidian Holder.